LG wrote:Another one for you Warren, I bought this earlier today from a second hand store. Serial number 2M 15930 (Melbourne 1942?). Brazed on seat stays and the flick test indicates the tubes aren't gaspipe. Sturmey Archer AB rear wheel appears to be a later addition. Any advice much appreciated. Almost bought another bike at the same time, this one decalled as a "Midland Star" from Northern Tassie.

Wow I've just gotta chime in and say that's awesome! I'd love that front end for my 2 star for my Cucciolo project... I can't even find 28" forks at the moment...

[quote="peteGS"][quote="LG"]Another one for you Warren, I bought this earlier today from a second hand store. Serial number 2M 15930 (Melbourne 1942?). Brazed on seat stays and the flick test indicates the tubes aren't gaspipe. Sturmey Archer AB rear wheel appears to be a later addition. Any advice much appreciated. Almost bought another bike at the same time, this one decalled as a "Midland Star" from Northern Tassie.

That one could be ex ARMY have a look for the broad arrow and DD stamp, "Gaspipe" is not a normal thing for Australian made bikes, more the English roadster then later the cheap Asian imports

Army is always a possibilty, but I can't see any stamps on the frame indicating government property. I've checked all lugs, the under side of the bottom bracket, as well as the main tubes. There are no decals or pinstriping and it appears to be all black except for the white star highlights.

There's a fair bit of work required for this bike, but absolutely no reason I can see why it can't be made ridable again . It has the keyhole fork ends, '7' shaped seat post which has been tack welded in place and clamp style headset. It looks like a quite well finished frame. I originally thought it was older given the headset and 28" westwood front rim, but recall Warren posting at some stage that the year-city serial number sequence didn't start until the late 30s.

PeteGS, I think I might have a spare fork for 28", but it is designed for the old clamp style headset.

LG wrote:Army is always a possibilty, but I can't see any stamps on the frame indicating government property. I've checked all lugs, the under side of the bottom bracket, as well as the main tubes. There are no decals or pinstriping and it appears to be all black except for the white star highlights.

There's a fair bit of work required for this bike, but absolutely no reason I can see why it can't be made ridable again . It has the keyhole fork ends, '7' shaped seat post which has been tack welded in place and clamp style headset. It looks like a quite well finished frame. I originally thought it was older given the headset and 28" westwood front rim, but recall Warren posting at some stage that the year-city serial number sequence didn't start until the late 30s.

PeteGS, I think I might have a spare fork for 28", but it is designed for the old clamp style headset.

That's definitely going to clean up nicely, it'll buff right out

Seriously though, would definitely be worth the effort to clean up.

Bugger on the forks, just can't seem to win with them at the moment...

Tinker, that looks like a nicely made bike. The rear fork ends look very similar to my army bike posted above. Are you sure there's no serial number on the right rear dropout? From what I've learnt on this forum thus far, I'd esimate 30s-40s, I'm sure others will be more specific.

Tinker, as far as I know, those rear ends only came on the military bikes, or should I say, I have only seen them on military bikes. I suppose its possible that they were used on civilian models during the war, and that the those bikes came without the heavy duty forks. I have not seen them on other wartime civilian models, but that doesnt mean too much, as new variations on 'standard' models are cropping up all the time. During the war, more than at any other time, they appear to have used whatever parts were to hand, to complete bikes and get them out to the public, and particularly to the army, navy, and air force.

PeteGS, the roadster with 06946 on right rear end, I think this is early 1960's, when the numeric sequence without prefix was started again.

bicyclepassion wrote:Tinker, as far as I know, those rear ends only came on the military bikes, or should I say, I have only seen them on military bikes. I suppose its possible that they were used on civilian models during the war, and that the those bikes came without the heavy duty forks. I have not seen them on other wartime civilian models, but that doesnt mean too much, as new variations on 'standard' models are cropping up all the time. During the war, more than at any other time, they appear to have used whatever parts were to hand, to complete bikes and get them out to the public, and particularly to the army, navy, and air force.

Warren

Thanks Warren. Some interesting info there on war time bikes. I did locate a serial number eventually with a bit more light and some paint/grease stripped away. Serial number is 88444.

Am a newbie to your forum, but an oldie beyond all redemption when it comes to early bicycles.

Been looking for an original paint Malvern Star to add to my collection for some years now, so I bought the 5 Star on American ebay the other day.

Seller told me he had emails from some very angry potential bidders from your neck of the woods because he would not ship abroad. Some sellers in every country might be paranoid about foreign shipping. In case you need to get around that stupidity in future, you have to have an optional American address for postage; I use a mate there, who forwards stuff to me.

So, apologies to various Australian fellow bidders who understandably wanted to repatriate it. But rest assured it will be ridden, and displayed at some shows here so brits can see what a great Australian bike looks like.And of course it will also be parked on www.oldbike.eu/museum

Three questions:

1. Seller says frame no is M27517. I suppose he might have misread it as lack of prefix number seems to be out of sequence?Can you offer any clues to the age from the style of the transfers (decals) on the ebay photos?

2. I'd love some copies of brochure/ ads for this particular model to add to its page. Payment as req'd.

3. BSA or CL chainwheel in your opinion?

(You can view it by putting its item number 181014591925 into ebay search)

Hi Warren,Unfortunately the serial number on my frame won't help you with your research, but I'd love to get a date on my frame.It's a 3 star, no. 0M22480.

Also, if anybody can clarify, or point me in the right direction with another link... Regarding forks; I've seen plenty of pictures of malvern star "star" bikes that have and don't have stars on the forks. Is this because the forks aren't original or does it depend on the year of the particular model?

The 3 star OM 22480 would be 1950 manufacture.The 'stars in crown' Versus 'no stars in crown' is far too big a topic to cover here. I can only treat these on a case by case basis.As far as I know, your 1950 3 star would NOT have stars in the fork crown. What type of rear dropouts does it have?Post here, or send me some pics please.Warren

Thanks Warren, appreciate your help. But I cant work out how to attach images?

And besides, Im not going ahead with my project anymore, I started to clean the frame up last night and the rust damage was worse than I anticipated... a section of the down tube has rust holes in it ($150 not well spent on ebay).

jim85 wrote:Thanks Warren, appreciate your help. But I cant work out how to attach images?

And besides, Im not going ahead with my project anymore, I started to clean the frame up last night and the rust damage was worse than I anticipated... a section of the down tube has rust holes in it ($150 not well spent on ebay).

But thanks again for your help.James

Jim, if you're not going ahead, do you then have a spare set of forks? For 28" wheels? I'm still looking for a pair if they're any good... preferably Malvern Star ones with the stars but will look at any 28" ones...

I'am repairing the mechanical side of this bike for a friend. It was his grandmothers & is believed to be about 40yo.Apparently before it was sandblasted (with BB & rear bearing/brake assembly in place) (you can imagine the mess) it had a Malvern Star transfer on the headset.My friend would like to know of period colours & any other relative info? The wheels are steel.The seat stays are screwed, Iam yet to receive the basket of bits!There are 3 numbers on the BB but they are so gunked I cannot read them.

Hi Warren,Would like your opinion on this one:http://m.flickr.com/photos/91101380@N04 ... /lightbox/Serial number is on the non-drive side of the seat tube and appears to read "345 21".There are no other serial number markings that I can find.The Fitchel & Sachs rear hub is stamped "48 P" which seems to indicate its from 1948, but the wheels could well have been a later addition.Would appreciate your opinion.Cheers!

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